US gun lobby blames Dunblane law for big rise in shootings

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Supporters of gun ownership rights in the US are claiming that strict controls introduced in Britain after the Dunblane massacre have increased violence because people are unable to defend themselves.

The American gun lobby has been put on the back foot by last week’s shooting of 32 students at Virginia Tech but is still preparing to defend itself against any effort to impose tighter restrictions.

Newt Gingrich, the former Speaker of the House of Representatives and a possible 2008 Republican presidential candidate, told ABC News that if students and teachers had been armed at the Virginia Tech they might have